Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. Joshua 1:8 (NLT) Many people mistakenly think meditation originated from New Age religion, but it’s actually Biblical! While out shopping one time, I encountered an openly New Age clerk. She spoke excitedly about how she meditated to empty herself to a state of nothingness. I mentioned that I also loved meditating but enjoyed entirely different results. Intrigued, she wanted to know more. So, I took the opportunity to explain Biblical meditation. Meditating on God’s Word works the opposite way. Instead of emptying yourself of fears and worries, Biblical meditation fills your …

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. John 14:6 (NLT) In John 8:32, Jesus said “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (NLT). But what is truth? Well, first let’s cover what isn’t the truth. The truth is not that you’re the bad one in your family. You may have been told that by a family member, but that family member doesn’t hold the truth. Your mom or dad may have said that you were hard-headed or a teacher may have called you slow, but your parents and teachers aren’t your source of truth. Maybe you read a book about personality types and it said that …

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1 (NKJV) Do you ever feel like you can’t talk to God? Maybe you’ve done a few things you’re not proud of or you haven’t been putting much effort into your relationship with God, so deep down you feel unworthy to even talk to Him. Many people feel this way. Some react by trying to pull up their socks, spiritually speaking. They think that if they can just live up to a certain standard, they’ll finally feel like they have the right to ask God for help. To try to earn the right to pray or come to church, they go to work trying to clean up their lives. The problem …

And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude]. Ephesians 4:23 (AMPC) Trying to control negative thinking is kind of like trying to grab a handful of water. It just squirts out everywhere and you end up with a bigger mess. When I was younger, I thought I could control my negative thinking. I knew that these thoughts weren’t based in truth, so I tried to stop thinking this way. Wow, was I surprised at how hard it was! The harder I tried not to think negatively, the more I did! For example, the thought kept coming up that I could never do enough. I felt inadequate and believed that nothing I did was ever sufficient to …

Bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NKJV) Do you ever feel condemned? Inadequate? Unworthy? Do you struggle with negative thoughts? Many people try to overcome negative thinking by saying things like, “I’m going to stop being so hard on myself,” or “I’m not going to focus on my failures.” The problem is that these statements are in the negative. The more you repeat them, the more you actually focus on what you don’t want to do. Instead, you need to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. But how? Well, what does the “obedience of Christ” mean? Christ was obedient to the point of death. When He died, He took your punishment, guilt and shame. …